Why Kaepernick? Why now? Harbaugh and the 49ers are going for broke, because that’s who they are

* Yes, the 49ers’ QB shenanigans led to me getting summoned from early Thanksgiving to write a column, with some elements from recent blog-items. This is what I came up with, straight from today’s Merc website (MY VERSION)/

Who would have the arrogance and madman guts to bench a playoff-tested quarterback in his prime in the middle of a go-for-broke season?

Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers, of course.

Who would have the gall or the genius to turn the offense over to Colin Kaepernick after a single breathtaking start, which he only got because Alex Smith was sidelined with post-concussion symptoms?

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You know who.

Surprise! Harbaugh simply isn’t anything like other coaches or regularly cautious humans, and if you needed more evidence, SI.com’s report that Harbaugh has decided to go with Kaepernick for Sunday’s game should do it.

According to Jim Trotter’s report, Smith has been informed that Kaepernick will start in New Orleans and that the decision does not involve Smith’s health status.

The 49ers have done nothing to dispute the essence of this, by the way, other than offensive coordinator Greg Roman mildly saying Thursday that “no decision has been made” at QB.

There was no other way for the 49ers to handle this, since every Harbaugh signal from the minutes after Kaepernick’s landmark performance against the Bears on Monday night pointed to this, anyway.

Kaepernick was last year’s high draft pick by Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke, he was the long-term plan when the 49ers chased Peyton Manning last spring and he was shoved into games early this season even when Smith was playing well.

Kaepernick was always the future, with an expected 2013 arrival time. Then Smith’s untimely injury plus Kaepernick’s incredible display moved up the timeline.

This job—and this team—is apparently now Kaepernick’s to lose.

Frankly, despite Smith’s career-best stats, Harbaugh probably didn’t want to hesitate with Kaepernick and then possibly live to regret it in the playoffs.

Also, I’m guessing the 49ers want to know right now what they have in Kaepernick.

Is he an instant franchise QB or will they need to make other plans, possibly including a move back to Smith?

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Better to get that settled now, I guess, if you’re a madman coaching staff.

Personally, I think this is a premature move, and I think Smith deserves to keep this job. He’s 28, he’s still theoretically improving, and he has gone through so much to get to this point. He doesn’t deserve to lose the job via an injury.

But coaches have to go with their instincts–timid coaches are losing coaches–and the 49ers’ staff apparently has locked into Kaepernick.

Of course, making this kind of change in late-November is gutsy, but it lets Harbaugh, Roman and Kaepernick figure things out in time for the playoffs.

Still, this all has to be a jolt for Smith, who is losing his job for, what, the fourth or fifth time in his eight-season 49ers career?

But remember, it was Harbaugh who committed to Smith last season when he could’ve come into this job demanding anybody but Smith.

And it was Harbaugh who coached Smith into the QB that he is now—70 percent completion rate, solid leader, dependable winner in almost every way.

If Harbaugh has decided that Kaepernick’s internship is over, then I don’t know how loudly Smith can complain.

And we know Smith. He might not agree, but he probably understands all of this, has seen it coming, and will not stage a public pout.

Harbaugh says that the NFL is about high-stakes competition, and though he occasionally excerpted Smith from that conversation, it was always in the background at QB.

Kaepernick challenges defenses in many more areas, he’s younger, he’s much more dynamic, and the locker room was electrified by him.

So when Harbaugh graded Kaepernick’s performance as an “A-plus-plus” on Wednesday and then equated Kaepernick’s small sample size to Smith’s last season-and-a-half… that was a card-player’s “tell.”

Maybe the biggest indicator: While most of us assumed the 49ers would put Kaepernick primarily in safe, run-first situations against Chicago, Harbaugh and Co. launched Kaepernick as a pure drop-back QB.

And Kaepernick flourished, against a very good defense, with the knowledge that he could always break off a long run if necessary.

Instead of doing less with the offense because Kaepernick was in, the 49ers did more with No. 7.

Again, it’s risky to do this now. If Kaepernick bombs out, Harbaugh could look extremely rash and mostly foolish.

It’s possible that, even if the 49ers turn back to Smith later this season, the chemistry and confidence will be gone.

It all could backfire on a team that otherwise seems ready-made for another long playoff run.

So yeah, there might not be another coach or team that would dare to do this.

But Harbaugh has proven that he doesn’t care about public-relations implications or potential blow-back.

Probably in the back of his mind, the riskiness of making this change was part of the allure too. When you’re an NFL madman, how could you resist?

ASmith had one good year in the JHar offense. Went 13-3 and tossed up only 5 INT’s. manning would’ve been an upgrade for sure. Manning would’ve held off Kaep. Kaep was able to open his HC’s eyes vs the Bears thru injury. In this sport especially, you can lose your job, having an injury. If Manning was here and goes down, Kaep steps in and shows em they didn’t need Manning. Like he did for Smith. I would put almost any QB starter or backup on the Niners and they go 13-3 and toss up only 5 INT’s. it helps that for two years in a row the Niners are near dead last in passing yet have the highest comp%. See how that works. Less passes less chances for Smith to make mistakes. Smith was just good enough to win. That’s not what JHar wants. He wants to win and will do whatever he thinks he needs to do. Kaep sat behind Smith all last year soakin in the offensive knowledge. The way he used it vs the bears showed he was ready. I don’t think we will see a Cam like regression. Cam doesn’t have this D or the same amount of offensive weapons. He’s got 2 decent backs and 1 great receiver with a hokey Oline and nonexistent D. Put Cam on the Niners. Think we’d win? I do. How about with Luck? Think they’d win. Kaep is only a notch below those two guys and they are each the next gen QB’s. he’s had a year and near a half to sit and learn one offense. He’s not shy about trying to make the big play. He makes all the same line calls and has this guy JHar behind him. Glad to see JHar actually coach. The team responded to Kaep. He electrified them and had all his weapons thinking the ball would come thier way once open. They didn’t feel that for Smith. As Davis said “Felt like the handcuffs were off!” So with Smith in there they need Davis as a blocker and waste the best TE in the league most games. Kaep seemed to purposely find him time and again. Threw balls on a rope with great accuracy against a team that doesn’t blitz but does disguise coverages with the best.
Kaep looks good. He’s young and can really grow with this team. Smith has reached his height. Last year was the best Smith could play and all people can say is he only threw 5 picks last year. He tossed up a 60-70% comp percentage on shorts passes and dump offs. Only had two games in 18 last year where he put the team on his back. That isn’t and wasn’t good enough. Lets see what the youngin can do.
Go Kaep Go Niners!!

duffer

Kaepernick was very impressive at Nevada State, It”s surprising he wasn’t picked in the 1st round. The Niners know their stuff (unlike most NFL teams apparently) Perhaps the east coast bias worked in the Niners favor with Kaepernick. Alex Smith is also solid though.

stephen rogerson

great column, sometimes the gambler mentality must be served.

Hansjawn

For the first time in my life I can say that I’m truly inwardly rooting against K-man being successful… when injustice is done right in front of your face, it’s very hard to just go along with it. Why didn’t they pull Aaron Rodgers forever after his concussion then Flynn set all the Packers passing records in his replacement game for Rodgers last year? Dumb choice and just wait till K-man gets hurt… there won’t be any compassion for him from much of anyone with principles.